Saturday, September 30, 2006

2 OPEC countries cut oil production

NEW YORK, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Nigeria and Venezuela plan to cut production amid OPEC concern about the rapid drop in prices, the OPEC countries say. The move, which accounts for about 170,000 barrels a day, may suggest other cuts by the oil-producing cartel, The Financial Times reports.

Figures to be released in the next few weeks are expected to show Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates also reduced output, but are keeping quiet about it, the newspaper reports.

Nigerian Oil Minister and OPEC President Edmund Daukoru has said the price of oil was "very low."

Nigeria and Venezuela both said their cuts were part of an informal deal worked out at a meeting in September to pare output if prices fell, The New York Times reported.

Oil prices peaked in midsummer at $77.03 a barrel and have fallen nearly 20 percent since then.

Current oil futures rose 15 cents to close at $62.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.